W: Yes, I've been enjoyed listening to you and learning more about your background. Your experience is impressive, and it’s obvious that you do good work.
是的，很高兴听你讲这些，更加了解了你的背景。你的经历令人印象深刻，显然你的工作很出色。
WM: Thanks. What you're trying to do here interests me. I think there's a lot of potential. As I said, I'm ready to leave my present job if the opportunity is attractive enough.
谢谢。你们想做的事我很有兴趣，我认为潜力很大。我说过，如果这个机会足够吸引人，我可以离开目前的工作。
W: Great. As I’m sure you are aware, it won’t be easy. That’s a lot of uncertainty. We need a strong, committed team.
太好了。我相信你知道，这并不容易。不确定性很大，我们需要一个强大的、坚定的团队。
WM: Sure, I understand.
当然，我明白。
W: As for what we can offer you. First, I want to stress again that we are a startup. The people we have working here now are on reduced salaries.
至于我们能提供的，首先，我想再次强调，我们是一家初创企业，我们现在这里的员工收入会减少。
WM: I understand. I’m willing to take less than what I’m being paid now; but I have two children, so I’ve got to consider that too. I'll need to at least cover our basic living expenses.
我明白。我愿意拿比现在少的钱，但我有两个孩子，所以我得考虑一下。我至少得能负担我们的基本生活费用。
W: OK. We have two ways we can do this. Both of them have you starting at a reduced salary. One will give you a bonus after each round of financing. With the other, you can start with a higher salary, but the bonus will be smaller, or none at all.
好的，我们有两种方法。你可以开始薪水较少，然后每轮融资后，给你奖金；另一种是开始薪水较高，但是每轮融资后奖金会较少，或者根本没有。
WM: What is the time frame for the financing?
融资的时间框架有吗？
W: That depends on a lot of things. We're hoping to get the next round of financing within 6 to 9 months. We don’t want to go to our investors too early because we want to be in a strong position. And for that, we are only to perform. For now, we have enough cash to cover us for about a year.
这取决于很多事情。我们希望在6到9个月内获得下一轮融资，我们不想过早地找到投资者，因为我们希望处于有利地位。为此，我们只能继续努力。目前，我们有足够的现金支撑大约一年的费用。
WM: Okay, that makes sense. Well, I’ll talk to my wife and see what she says.
好的，这有些道理。我会和我妻子谈谈，听听她怎么说。
W: Right. You need to cover your expenses, but not enough to have savings. The less you ask for now, the greater your bonus is as you move forward. That’s the idea.
嗯，你需要支撑你的开支，但不足以有储蓄。你现在要求越少，你的奖金就越高，就是这样。
WM: Got it. I'll get back to you tomorrow.
明白，我明天给你回复。

W: Well, what do you think?
你觉得怎样？
BM: He’s impressive. I think he’s someone who can strengthen our team.
他给人印象深刻，我认为他能加强我们队伍。
W: I think so too. If he can accept a low enough salary, we should hire him. That will show that he believes enough in our plan to take on the risk.
我也这么认为。如果他能接受足够低的薪水，我们就雇用他，这表明他对我们的计划有足够的信心，可以承担风险。
BM: What if he asks for more than we can afford?
如果他要的超出我们的承受能力呢？
W: In that case we can see if he'll consider working on a short-term project first. That way he could keep his present job, and we could try to bring him in later. It would lower his risk.
那样的话，我们可以看看他是否会考虑先做一个短期项目。这样他就可以保住现在的工作，我们以后再请他来，这会降低他的风险。
BM: I doubt if he would consider that, but it’s worth a try.
我怀疑他是否会考虑，但值得一试。
W: Yeah, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Whatever, we should try to avoid losing him completely.
是啊，希望不会这样。不管怎样，我们应该尽量避免完全失去他。
BM: Well, I’m optimistic. I think he will decide to join us. He’s the kind of guy who likes a challenge.
嗯，我很乐观。我想他会决定加入我们的，他是个喜欢挑战的人。
W: From what I could tell, we certainly won’t have to push him to get things done.
就我而言，我们也不必强迫他把事情做完。
BM: Exactly. He'll feel the pressure just like the rest of us. Haha...
没错，他会像我们一样感受到压力。哈哈…